Every Step Of The Way
by mulhollanddrivee
Summary: Sometimes things are just meant to come to an inevitable halt, but as unstable as things may seem or even be, there's always going to be something better in the future... Maybe even if it isn't with the people you thought. Renee Young/Roman Reigns (eventual), Kaitlyn/Seth Rollins.
1. Chapter 1

The night was finally over, at last.

Renee sighed back into the driver's seat of the car, her eyes waiting on the traffic lights to flash green so she could continue down the road. Her hand moved over the buttons on the built in radio to try and find something remotely decent, these radio stations were never anything good at night... or anytime during the day, really. The Canadian diva's eyes quickly switched from one thing to another; the traffic lights and the stereo, trying hard to keep at least the majority of her focus on the road... Surprisingly for Renee, tonight had pretty much been a near snoozefest for her part. The blonde woman was never one for wanting to leave a show as eagerly as she did right then, because she loved her job, but the night had seemingly dragged along so tediously that she could not wait to be done with the day. It was once again a fun and eventful show to observe, but she was hardly on a busy schedule and the majority of the show was just free time for her. Sure, it was cool to relax and talk to some of her coworkers, but she was so used to being productive and using the time wisely. The diva wasn't an exhausted kind of tired, but more so a drained kind of tired.

Her eyes snapped open as the green lights grabbed her attention, the blonde then hitting down on the exhilarator and turning down the next corner. Right now, there were probably only three things on Renee's mind: coffee, sleep, and food. All of which sounded odd together, but she really did crave all three. She knew she'd sleep after the coffee anyway, she was that tired. Hell, to get an even better night's sleep, she even considered hot chocolate as a substitute. Either way, she was starving and tired, and she wasn't exactly familiar with this town and its food establishments, so just driving until she could find somewhere to get some food was what she was going to have to do. She made sure to keep close to the hotel the superstars were staying at, thought, knowing that she would almost definitely get herself lost if she went too far out.

It wasn't long before she managed to find another McDonald's. Not surprising, they were everywhere, she had just avoided going and tried to find somewhere a little more, well, healthy and appetising. Shurgging, she drove through and parked. She knew could have used the drive-thru, but she'd rather eat somewhere that wasn't in this damn, low built car.

Renee stepped out and locked the car behind her, the diva shivering as the cold wind hit her cheeks. She was wearing a dress with ankle boots, but was wise enough to double up on tights and wear a padded and hooded jacket. This place luckily had no sign of snow yet, which she was relieved of, but the cold, harsh winds weren't exactly anything nice.

She didn't bother to push open the door herself, instead just pushing the button that opened the doors for her. "Psh, America," she muttered. Her heels clicked across the tiles of the floor as she approached the counter. "Just a hot chocolate and Big Mac, please." She smiled as she handed across the money and the cashier took her order. A Big Mac, gross, she thought. There wasn't much else she could grab to eat quickly anyway, so what the hell. The calories were shocking, but she'd just probably spend a little extra time at the gym tomorrow to make up for it, she supposed. Her eyes traced around the place, it was pretty much empty barring a few people. Maybe even familiar people... People who she actually knew. Her eyes stopped over at the table towards the back, and there sat the current most talked about Shield member, Roman Reigns. Her expression softened, Renee frowning slightly as he sat there alone, looking down at the table, his fingers tapping against the coffee cup his hand consealed.

"Your order, ma'am."

"Thank you very much," she replied, grabbing her food and hot chocolate from the counter. She turned and thought for a minute, wondering if going over to talk to him was the right idea. Honestly, Reigns seemed nice enough. Renee had come across him on a few occasions and had maybe even spoken to him. It wasn't much, but she at least knew they were on good terms. She decided to go for it and proceeded to walk over to the man, loud footwear and all.

He looked up just as she approached him, Renee knowing that he only did so because of her shoes, or else he wouldn't have cared or noticed, considering he looked so lost in thought. "Do you mind?" She asked, motioning towards the seat opposite him, her voice was low and soft, and Roman shook his head.

"Not at all."

She placed down her drink and burger and sat down. Her brows narrowed as she saw that he'd returned his gaze back down to the table, not an ounce of expression there. "I didn't come over here to be intrusive or anything, it's just... you looked so down and-"

"I know you didn't. I wouldn't expect that from you anyway."

Renee nodded, her eyes looking down for a moment, then back up. She took a sip of her drink and sighed. "Good, thanks. I'm sorry about tonight. I mean, you guys were just so tight, it's hard to think of you not getting along. From my understanding I know you're fine with Seth, well... I suppose you are. I guess it's just Dean that you two are having the issues with. I'm really not trying to give you any wrong ideas or cause trouble, I just... I hate to see you all like this after how close you were... or are, even." Renee frowned after she spoke. "Sorry, I really shouldn't have said any of that. I'm sure you're not wanting to discuss any of this outside of The Shield, I'll go."

"Wait," Roman quickly said before the woman could get up and leave. "Don't go. I know you're just trying to help, I appreciate it."

Renee nodded slowly, watching as the man's gaze lifted to meet hers. He adjusted himself more comfortably in the seat and brought his hands back to the cup before him. "Things are getting pretty rocky... to the point where I'd rather be elsewhere. The three of us together just doesn't seem to work because... it's a little more different than before. I'm fine with Seth, we're just a lot more distant than we were because of this whole thing. I guess you could say that it began when we lost the tag belts. Dean wasn't happy."

The blonde looked at him for a moment with a frown. "Wait, that isn't really fair for him to judge, when was the last time he defended his damn belt? I'm pretty sure you and Seth were the ones busting your asses with those belts on the line. He has no room to talk..."

The words drew a slight snigger from Reigns, a nice one... Which relieved Renee a little. He leaned back into the seat and his hands to his lap. "You're absolutely right, and this is what Seth and I say all the time. Dean's getting far too big for his boots, and it's seriously bringing us down as a team."

"Where are Seth and Dean?" Renee asked a little hesitantly.

"Dean went off to some party or something. He mentioned that he was going with a few other guys, so we just kind of left him to it. Seth's with Kaitlyn, which is fine. She came to me today and said he'd be staying with her for the night to give us all some space. She's pretty pissed off with Dean too, so you're not the only one outside of the group that is."

Renee nodded. "Yeah... Kaitlyn is pretty worried about you guys. I mean, of all the roster, she's the one that's the closest to you guys what with her being with Seth," she told him, a slight laugh coming from her. "She has a habit of telling me these things, so I guess she doesn't really go to anyone else with it. I say nothing, I swear."

Roman chuckled lightly at her hands making a jokingly defensive gesture. "Relax, I hear nothing but good word about you, so it's cool."

"That's a relief," she smiled. The woman noticed that with every slight laugh that was brought out of him, came an expressionless glare back down at the table. This whole thing really was bothering him. Renee had no idea what extent it was at now, but sitting here opposite one of the members and one of her coworkers who seemed to genuinely look upset, really made her feel sorry for him... To the point where she'd rather stay here, at McDonald's at 9pm, and try to at least make him feel a bit better.

"Are you busy tonight, Renee?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, and she shook her head quickly before it made her look like he just freaked her out. "No, I was just going to head back to my hotel room for the night and watch a movie, I'm pretty bushed. Why?"

Reigns drank the last bit of coffee in his cup - coffee that had unsurprisingly gone cool from him having it there in front of him for so long instead of drinking it - then spoke again. "I just wondered if you wanted to maybe do something for the rest of the night. I don't know what, it's just... I could really do with the nice company. Maybe not if you're tired, I completely understand."

Renee's eyes widened again, and she smiled at his unsteady expression. "No, I don't mind at all. I'd really like that. Do you have an idea or sorts?"

"Guess we could just watch a film and order pizza. It's still awfully greasy, but it doesn't really look like you're intent on eating that thing you just bought. And you really ought to eat."

"I know, thanks," she smiled. "Sounds liked a plan to me. Wanna go to my room? It's pretty cushty."

"Sure, that way there would be no drunken Dean stumbling in." The two of them stood up, Renee frowning at the huge bag Reigns slung over his shoulder. "You walked here?" She asked, knowing that if he had driven, he would have probably used the drive-thru, or just left the bag in the car.

"Yeah, it's fine. I needed it."

"It's a good thing that we don't have two cars to deal with, then. Ready to go?"

"Yep." The former champion followed Renee on, moving quickly to get in front of her to hold open the door. She looked up from digging in her purse and laughed. "Thank you very much, sir."

"More than welcome, madam."


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone following with this and leaving kind words. :)

They arrived back to Renee's room soon after picking up a pizza from Dominoes and a few drinks. Nothing much, just diet Mountain Dew. They had also  
bumped into Fandango and Summer Rae at the same place, the two of them looking more than surprised at the sight of Renee walking in with Roman Reigns  
of all people... Fandango and Roman had excused themselves and let Renee explain the whole thing to Summer, and after a little convincing she kind of  
understood. Renee and Summer were pretty close, so it was natural for Summer to be curious or even suspicious about the situation. They'd left on that  
after arranging to meet up the next day. Roman and Renee had laughed about it on the ride back; about how Fandango was far too engrossed in what pizza he wanted... and that he was still wearing the purple, buttoned down silk shirt. Summer had clearly spoken against it, though he had insisted on leaving the arena with it on, to which she'd just rolled her eyes at. They were an odd couple, but equally as fun and cute. This laughter did of course only last until Renee fell back asleep again. Roman had just turned down the radio slightly and left her to nod off for the rest of the ride, he knew she needed it.

It was just such a relief to get back to the hotel. The room really was a comforting temperature and place, which sure as hell made a difference from some of  
the hotels the wrestlers had to stay in sometimes. They weren't necessarily all that bad, just chilly and bland. It was nice here, and having the company was even nicer...

"I don't think I have much time left," Renee joked as she stummbled through the door. She tossed her purse down and fell face first onto the pretty huge bed,  
half of her legs dangling off the side. Roman looked at her with a brown raised and half a smirk. He had insisted to carry near enough everything up, including  
the pizza, drinks, and both of their things. He knew Renee was far too worn down to carry her own weight, let alone anything else, which is why he genuinely  
wondered whether or not she was out cold right now.

"You really should have eaten this in the car instead of napping," the man told her, dropping both his and her bags onto the sofa chair. "So, do you sit up and eat this now or do I just leave it right there on that pillow next to your head?"

"Sure," Renee mumbled. Her voice was so muffled from her being face first into a pillow still.

Roman shrugged. "Okay, if you say so." He walked over to the bed, pizza box in hand, and sat down next to her. The flip of the lid and gush of warm, greasy  
goodness air alone dragged Renee back up. That, and the thought of Roman actually taking out a slice and putting it right next to her head, or even on it... The  
wrestler did come across as the more mature and not so foolish type, but she wouldn't put it past him...

"Alright, alright..." She turned to sit up properly, her eyes widening at the food in Roman's lap, then looking back up at him. "You got four cheese?"

"Well, yeah... I thought I'd avoid getting the meat. I'm sure I asked you when we were driving here, you just kind of mumbled... so, I got this. Sorry, would you  
have preferred something different?"

"No, no, not at all. Four cheese is actually my favourite. So not creative, I know, but who doesn't like cheese? Four kinds of it," she told him, pulling up a piece,  
the two of them laughing at the stringy melted cheese almost hitting Roman in the face. "I have never been so grateful to have food. Ever."

"I get that. Like, everytime we get to the arena. That catering stuff is good," Roman said, opening up the bottle of drink.

"Yeah, I've seen you hovering over that sandwich section far too often, actually..."

Roman chuckled. "What can I say, they provide good grub."

They had laughed, then there was silence after that. They were just about done with the pizza and drinks when Renee broke the silence between the two."So  
what are you planning on doing about Seth and Dean?" She still asked about this with hesistation, though it seemed that Roman didn't take it as a sensitive  
subject, he struck her as far too laid back with it. It intrigued Renee as to what he thought about the whole thing, which is why she brought it up, because before tonight, Renee thought he'd be the calm and mature one about it who'd just leave Dean to get on his high horse. But seeing him tonight just showed that there was a lot more getting to him than he was letting on...

"Seth and Dean just seem to be arguing amongst themselves at the moment. It's beginning to be some sort of competition on who's the best. We just... seem  
to be proving ourselves *against* each other rather than to everyone else with each other."

"Is it... really starting to fall apart?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Dean says it's still tight. I just agree to keep the peace. I can't keep up with him, he seems so bipolar on it all. One minute we're a  
force to be reckoned with, the next, at each other's throats."

It was beginning to show through again just how much this was bothering him, because Renee noticed the blank expression that she had seen early in the night come back. This time, with a real hint of sadness. The woman closed the now empty pizza box and put it on the table in front of the couch. There was no rubbish bin in there to put it in, which was dumb, so that's where it would have to go for now. At this point, she was unsure of what to do other than give him a little time to think. So she did, taking her duffle bag into the bathroom to change into something comfortable to sleep in without uttering a word. She spent a fair amount of time in there, tying up her hair in a messy bun, removing her make up and brushing her teeth. After moving the wipe over her face and removing every trace of make up, the thought immediately occurred to her that she'd be walking back in there, to Roman Reigns, sporting her au naturel look. A look she was pretty sure he had never seen, and she suddenly felt very exposed...

She shrugged, supposing that how she looked certainly wasn't an issue right now and not something Roman would be fussed about. She switched the light off  
and walked back through to the bedroom, where the big man was now sat, looking like he was holding something. Renee blinked when she saw what it was - the picture that Renee kept on her bedside table. He looked up, quickly putting the picture back to where it was when he saw her. "Sorry, I just..."

"No, it's fine," she walked over and sat beside him, looking over at the picture of her and her mother. "It's a sentimental thing, I guess. Mom and I have always  
been close, I take it everywhere."

"That's lovely. We have huge family portraits back at home."

"Huge because of how many people there are in your family?" Renee asked with hilarity, and Roman chuckled.

"Ah, very. Close, though. Couldn't ask for better folks."

"I have no doubt," she sighed, but with a smile.

Roman caught her aimless glance and gave her nothing but a soft expression with a small smile. She was relieved to see that the little family moment they had  
just shared had at least looked like it had cheered him up. That, or he was preparing the mention her plain face... Either way, it was better than him looking upset. "Wanna watch something?"

"Sure. There should be something on the listings, but if not, I possibly have a huge stack of Disney and lame horror movies in my suitcase. Whichever sounds  
the most appealing, go for."

He laughed at the movie part. He liked that Renee was the same person around everyone. She was herself and that was it. He saw her and Kaitlyn as really  
similar, that's probably why the two of them got along so well. They were both, well, not the stereotypical WWE Diva. They actually had real personality and were two girls you could easily get along with.

"Well, whatever goes on, you'll be dead to the world within the first three minutes."

"Oh right, yeah, sleep. I forgot about that one."

Roman turned on the TV and went to the movie section. He knew there would be nothing too interesting, but he was near enough as tired as Renee was so he  
couldn't see either of them watching through the entire thing. Renee had walked over the switch off the light, and on her way back grabbed a DVD from her  
case. The man didn't see what she had picked out because of how dark it was, so he waited until she opened up the player and put the disc in. She quickly got  
back to the bed and tucked herself in recklessly just before the main screen had shown up. And there it was.

Roman looked over to her with a huge grin to see that she was also bearing the exact expression.

"Adventure Time. Genius."


	3. Chapter 3

It shouldn't have been a surprise that Renee would eventually be awoken by the sound of her ringtone blaring from her phone, but it was. An annoying surprise at that. Because much like any other sane person, being woken up by a phone call ridiculously early in the morning didn't exactly bring the biggest of smiles to her face. She forced her eyes open at the irritating sound of her mobile slowly dragging itself over the wooden table from the vibration. 6.12am. And after incessantly blinking away the stinging blurred vision, she manage to just see that it was Kaitlyn calling. At that moment, Renee slung her head back into the pillow, a grunt of frustration leaving her at being woken up at stupid o'clock. By Kaitlyn of all people, the woman notorious for sleeping in and being grouchy early in the morning.

It was definitely unusual that she would be calling Renee at this time, and the blonde had to think for a moment what it is she might want. Then it hit her. The very reason was likely the huge, dark mane of hair laying right beside Renee. She panicked for a moment, unsure on whether or not Kaitlyn had gotten the wrong idea of this entirely. Of course, the news for Kaitlyn would have come from someone else, most likely Summer, seeing as she was the only person to have seen Renee with Roman. It would be no surprise if she was the one who had gone to Kaitlyn with it, not on badness, because she probably thought that the woman would know anyway considering all three women near enough discussed everything together.

If Kaitlyn had gone with the assumption that Renee was guessing she would, it wouldn't put her and Roman in the best of situations, but they had their story - the  
story of what actually happened.

She knew she'd have to answer the phone and explain, as much as she really couldn't be bothered. She looked across to the other side of the bed to see  
Roman Reigns sleeping what looked to be rather peacefully. Half of his face looked to be buried into the pillow, his long, dark hair spread out so much that it  
even shared Renee's pillow. Of course, the man's hair was remarkably more full and thick when it was dry, it made Renee wonder how difficult it would be to  
wrestle if it weren't for him drenching it every show... and honestly, the thought brought a grin to the Canadian beauty. Her eyes traced over his tattooed arm that was drawn up where he rested his head on top of. And he was seemingly snoring softly. It was quite the sight. So much that Renee had to force her glare  
elsewhere. Sighing, she pulled herself up and shifted her legs to hang over the side of the bed. She was careful not move too sharp, as she didn't want to wake Roman, certainly not at this time. The Diva was surprised that the sound of her phone didn't actually wake him up. Maybe he wasn't much of a light-sleeper.

Renee picked up her phone, stood and walked to the bathroom. The room had gotten a little chilly and it looked to be really cold out. After closing the door, she  
ran a hand through her wavy hair and phoned Kaitlyn. Unsurprisingly, Renee was barely waiting any time at all for her friend to pick up and it wasn't long until she heard the other woman on the other end.

"Renee! Good, you're there-"

"Yes, I'm here," she said with the least enthusiastic of tones. "Here and tired."

There was a short silence for a moment, and Renee shook her head in disapproval. Obviously knowing that Kaitlyn wouldn't see it anyway, but the woman knew  
her friend was likely picturing her doing that very motion anyway...

"Damn, sorry. I got up super early for gym," the hybrid Diva told her, what seemed like amusement in her tone. Of course she found this funny. "That's actually  
why I called. Fancy a sesh' at the gym with the guys then drinks after?"

Thinking for a moment, Renee gave an incredulous look. "The guys?"

"Yeah, Seth, Roman and Dean. Dean was actually the one to suggest, oddly enough... maybe he felt bad, I don't know. So, what do you say? In a few hours or  
so? Then get ready for the show?"

"Yeah... that actually sounds great. I'm in."

"Excellent," Kaitlyn cheered. "Oh, and Renee?"

"Yes, Kaitlyn?"

"Seth said good luck getting Roman out of bed. Catch you later!" And with that, the call had ended and Renee was left to stand there looking more than a little  
stunned. She knew Kaitlyn would just be milking this. Luckily for Renee, her friend sounded most elated about this for whatever reason, which was typical of her.

Shaking her head with a smile, the blonde left the bathroom. She walked back through to see that Roman was now awake, sat up and currently reaching for the  
remote... Renee frowned, knowing that it was her being on the phone to Kaitlyn that had woken him up. It was pushing 6.25, so still quite early... It wasn't as if the  
wrestlers got the best nights' sleep when on the road and after shows, so they were used to waking up at early times with not much sleep for the next day... but  
she couldn't help but feel bad. "Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you up, Kaitlyn called."

"Hey, don't worry about it," he smiled. God damn that smile. "Guess I should be up anyway."

"Yeah, I suppose. I figured you might want a lie in of sorts, though, considering we were really tired last night."

"No, I'm fine," he told her. Roman motioned his hand to the empty side of the bed. "Unless you want to get some more sleep? That's fine."

"It's okay, I'm awake now," she walked over to her side and sat back down with her head resting against the headboard. She could see at the corner of her eye  
that Roman's glance was on her, and without thinking, she turned her head to face him. A brow was raised and a half smirk was there. "Why did Kaitlyn call?" He  
asked, sounding just as amused as Kaitlyn did over the phone.

"She invited us all to the gym. Well... Dean did. She just passed on the message."

The woman noticed that his expression had quickly changed at the mention of Dean, so she quickly reassured him. "Kaitlyn said it was probably him apologising  
and wanting to straighten things out or something, that's what she said..."

He nodded. "Not much of a surprise, he's always switching personalities towards us. But like I said, it keeps the peace to just go with it."

"That kind of attitude towards him constantly will just encourage him to push it even further, though," Renee said without thinking, ignoring that Roman's attention had been brought back to her once again. "Damn it, shut up," she muttered to herself, and Roman just chuckled lightly.

"I get you. You're fine to slate cranky Dean as much as you please."

"No," she laughed. "I shouldn't be at all, really."

"Maybe not, but it's not like he's here to hear it, is it?"

They both shared another laugh, a laugh that Renee felt slightly guilty for at Dean's expense. After all, she herself had never had a problem with him, but she  
did see the reason for Roman and Seth's frustration a lot of the time. Maybe that was just Dean and maybe the two men just knew how to deal with it. They had know each other for long enough, so they clearly knew each other near enough inside out.

"So, two options: we get ready and go meet the guys now, or we sit here, watch TV and possibly order room service. You choice, m'lady?"

"I think we should make a move, as much as I don't want to. I'm already starting to feel lazy. Plus... I'm pretty sure there's a waffle house somewhere around  
here that we drove past last night. And it's calling my name."

"Well, I think that's all the encouragement I'm going to need," Roman smiled. "Although, I am pretty comfy here."

She quickly grabbed the remote from his reach and put it down on the table next to her side. "Kaitlyn told me you'd be a test to get out of bed."

"Oh, so that's what you two were discussing on the phone? Anything else I should know about?"

Renee responded be hitting him with the pillow that sat behind her. "Nothing too out of the ordinary, but I think we're going to have to do some convincing."

"Of course we are," he said with a sigh. "They'll believe us."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because this is you and I. We're the good, believable ones," he smiled.

"You better hope," she said, walking around the bed to pick up her bag. She went over to Roman with an arm extended to get him up. "Let's go, big man."

"Sure thing," he shouted back as she walked back into the bathroom, but not before turning to look back at him with a brow raised.

"You forget that I have water access in here, so you better think about moving around now." With that, she closed the door behind her and to her amusement  
heard a large thud that only meant that he had taken her word and moved.


End file.
